To successfully get hired for a job in the U.S. from the Philippines, you’ll have to demonstrate a series of qualities during your job interview. Employers use job interviews to gauge whether or not you’re right for the position. They may ask questions specifically related to your experience and education that you can easily explain with a few details. Many employers may also present you with tough behavioral questions that are designed to stump you a little. Here are some tips to help you conquer these kinds of questions and come out on top.

Excel With Behavioral Questions

The reason why behavioral interview questions are so popular with American companies is they most often predict employee success in a business setting. Behavioral questions put job candidates on the spot and force them to reveal information about how they think, what their values are and what they would do in a tough situation. Additionally, because some behavioral questions are hard to predict, it’s tough to prepare a standard or rehearsed answer for them ahead of time. Fortunately, there are a few strategies to help you generate better answers for these questions to improve your chances of getting a job in the U.S. from the Philippines.

Learn About What Qualities Employers Are Looking For

The first thing to know about tough behavioral interview questions is they are designed to show employers examples of certain positive traits. Common traits that a company may be trying to judge about you include critical thinking skills, integrity, attention to detail, decisiveness, adaptability, judgment, commitment to teamwork, motivation and leadership ability. One method of finding out what kind of behaviors are important to the company before you interview is to do a little bit of investigating. Check out their website, their mission statement and any type of information online that gives details about the values that are important to their corporate culture. Chances are, these are the qualities they’re looking for in their employees.

Use the STAR Method to Answer

To give yourself a fighting chance to get that job in the U.S. from the Philippines, you’ll have to master the STAR method of answering interview questions. When the interviewer presents a potential issue to you, answer with confidence using this technique. Start out by describing the situation you experience, and then, detail the task. Next, give information about the actions you took to respond to the situation. Finally, end with the result of your actions, and describe how the company benefited from your input.

Prepare Extensively for a Job in the U.S. From the Philippines

Preparing for these challenging questions is not easy because most of the topics are specific to company situations. That doesn’t mean you should just skip this step entirely. Instead, try to be ready for behavioral questions by picking out stories from your professional experience and education where you demonstrated preferred behaviors like leadership, resilience, resourcefulness and more. Make your experiences more meaningful by being ready with quantifiable numbers that prove how effective you’ve been in the past. Practice reciting these narratives with friends or in front of a mirror to make yourself feel more comfortable telling them to a hiring manager.

Make It Easier for Next Time

Then, during the interview keep a copy of your resume on hand to help prompt you to discuss your exemplary stories when asked tough questions. If you get asked a question that you weren’t expecting, quickly think of your resume’s list of experiences and education to get some possible ideas for an answer. If you’re successful and you get hired for a job in the U.S. from the Philippines, don’t forget about this useful skill. During your work in your new position, take time every once in a while to document your accomplishments in your duties to help you excel with behavioral questions for your next job interview someday in the future.

Conclusion

Presenting yourself as the best candidate is tough when you get stumped with difficult behavioral interview questions. You can succeed at showing off your best qualities with these questions if you learn about the purpose of them and do a little bit of homework beforehand.

About the Author

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